Cedar Key Museum State Park
The third annual Festival of Trees event will feature a beautiful display of holiday greenery displayed by local non-profit organizations. The trees will be on display during museum hours of Thursday through Monday, 10 a.m. through 5 p.m. This event is free and visitors can vote for the favorite decorated tree. Please note there is a separate fee of $2 per person (free for children under six) to view the museum exhibits and the Whitman House. For more information, call (352) 543-5350.

Through Dec. 30

Train display at College of Central Florida
The Ocala Model Railroaders and private collector Bruce Richardson are partnering with the College of Central Florida to again present the 16th Annual Trains at the Holidays with exciting layouts and models with historic and holiday themes.
The exhibit at the Webber Gallery of the Ocala Campus, 3001 S.W. College Road, opens on Thursday, Dec. 15.
There is no fee for the exhibit or a Dec. 17 reception from noon to 2 p.m. Keith Marr, of Operation Lifesaver, will entertain and educate visitors with train-related music and a safety presentation for parents and children. From 2 to 4 p.m., Ocala Model Railroaders will conduct a workshop and demonstration on the art of model railroads.
The Webber Gallery has extended hours for the exhibit, which will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily including weekends through Dec. 30; the gallery will be closed on Dec. 24 and 25.
For more information, call 352-873-5809.

Dec. 28

Non-Fiction book club to meet
The Non-Fiction Book Bunch will meet on Wednesday, Dec. 28, at 1:30 p.m. at the Cedar Key Library’s top floor meeting room.

Jan. 9

Cedar Key Book Club
All are welcome to the book groups. Bring a friend.
The Book Bunch will meet on Monday, Jan. 9, 2012, 1:30 p.m., at the Cedar Key Library’s top floor meeting room. Tea Obreht’s “The Tiger’s Wife” will be discussed. Subsequent books will be selected at this January meeting.

THE NON-FICTION BOOK BUNCH will meet on Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011, 1:30 p.m., at the Cedar Key Library’s top floor meeting room. “The Warmth of Other Suns” will be discussed. January’s selection is Eric Hansen’s “Orchid Fever: A Horticultural Tale of Love, Lust, and Lunacy.”

Jan. 10

Coalition Against Tobacco meeting
The Levy Coalition Against Tobacco meets from 3:30-5:30 p.m. in the Community Room at Capital City Bank of Chiefland. The public is encouraged to attend.

Jan. 13

Honey Dewdrops coming to Cedar Key
The Honey Dewdrops, a Blue Grass duo and winners of 2008’s “A Praire Home Companion” Talent Show, will be in Concert on Friday, Jan. 13 at the Cedar Key Community Center.
The event will be presented by the Cedar Key Friends of the Library and more details will be coming.

Jan. 15
Musicians return for arts festival benefit
The 2nd Annual Acoustical Afternoon for the Arts featuring Joe Peters and Friends, Linda Hicks and singer/songwriter duo Bishop-Davidson and artist Susan Dauphine return to help raise money for the Old Florida Celebration of the Arts.
Dauphine will paint an artwork for the silent auction during the event that begins at 2:30 at the Island Room at the Cove in Cedar Key.
Appetizers and cash bar will be available. Tickets may be purchased from OFCA Committee Members (Kathy Fotteral, Allison Nelson, Chris Ford, Kathy Carver and Bev Ringenberg, 543-0362, beverlyring@bellsouth.net).
Proceeds from the concert and silent auction support the festival planned for April 28-29. For more information, call Mandy Cassiano at 352-543-5400 or email artsfestival @bellsouth.net.

Jan. 21
Florida Sandhill and Whooping Cranes
Come learn about Florida Sandhill and Whooping Cranes from Marilyn Spalding. Since 1990 she has been involved in the effort to re-establish Whooping Cranes in Florida. The presentation at 10:30 at the Cedar Key Public Library is sponsored by the Friends of the Lower Suwannee & Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuges. Sandhill Cranes, both resident and migratory in Florida, have provided useful information and techniques in the effort to re-establish Whooping Cranes, the world’s most endangered bird. This effort provided a unique opportunity to study the health of an entire population of Whooping Cranes in Florida. The presentation will cover some of the successes and failures of the project with special attention to habitat alterations and their consequences. Marilyn Spalding is a wildlife disease specialist with a particular interest in the diseases of wild birds, particularly Cranes. She has worked with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the University of Florida.

January

AARP driving classes
Florida is a mandated state and any insurance company doing business in Florida must give a discount to those completing an AARP Safe Driving Course. Open to individuals age 50 and older. Contact your agent for discount amounts. Update yourself to earn a discount and get newly enacted motor vehicle and traffic laws. Course fee is $12 for AARP members and $14 all others. Call instructor Linda Cochran at 352-493-1742 to register for the following Levy County classes. All begin at 9 a.m.:
n Jan. 17, Christ Episcopal Church, Highway 44, Cedar Key;
n Jan. 24, at Capital City Bank, North Young Blvd., Chiefland;
n Jan. 30, 9 a.m. , at 1st Baptist Church, Williston, 339 E. Noble Ave., Williston; and
n Feb. 21, 9 a.m. at Capital City Bank, North Young, Blvd.